Dataset Information

Inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Spores during Laboratory-Scale Composting of Feedlot Cattle Manure.

ABSTRACT: Anthrax outbreaks in livestock have social, economic and health implications, altering farmer's livelihoods, impacting trade and posing a zoonotic risk. Our study investigated the survival of Bacillus thuringiensis and B. anthracis spores sporulated at 15, 20, or 37°C, over 33 days of composting. Spores (?7.5 log10 CFU g(-1)) were mixed with manure and composted in laboratory scale composters. After 15 days, the compost was mixed and returned to the composter for a second cycle. Temperatures peaked at 71°C on day 2 and remained ?55°C for an average of 7 days in the first cycle, but did not exceed 55°C in the second. For B. thuringiensis, spores generated at 15 and 21°C exhibited reduced (P < 0.05) viability of 2.7 and 2.6 log10 CFU g(-1) respectively, as compared to a 0.6 log10 CFU g(-1) reduction for those generated at 37°C. For B. anthracis, sporulation temperature did not impact spore survival as there was a 2.5, 2.2, and 2.8 log10 CFU g(-1) reduction after composting for spores generated at 15, 21, and 37°C, respectively. For both species, spore viability declined more rapidly (P < 0.05) in the first as compared to the second composting cycle. Our findings suggest that the duration of thermophilic exposure (?55°C) is the main factor influencing survival of B. anthracis spores in compost. As sporulation temperature did not influence survival of B. anthracis, composting may lower the viability of spores associated with carcasses infected with B. anthracis over a range of sporulation temperatures.

SUBMITTER: Xu S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4882334 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Spores during Laboratory-Scale Composting of Feedlot Cattle Manure.

Xu Shanwei S Harvey Amanda A Barbieri Ruth R Reuter Tim T Stanford Kim K Amoako Kingsley K KK Selinger Leonard B LB McAllister Tim A TA

Frontiers in microbiology 20160527

Anthrax outbreaks in livestock have social, economic and health implications, altering farmer's livelihoods, impacting trade and posing a zoonotic risk. Our study investigated the survival of Bacillus thuringiensis and B. anthracis spores sporulated at 15, 20, or 37°C, over 33 days of composting. Spores (∼7.5 log10 CFU g(-1)) were mixed with manure and composted in laboratory scale composters. After 15 days, the compost was mixed and returned to the composter for a second cycle. Temperatures pea ...[more]

PMID: 27303388

Similar Datasets

Project description:Transcriptomic evidence is needed to determine whether composting is more effective than conventional stockpiling in mitigating the risk of resistome in livestock manure. The objective of this study is to compare composting and stockpiling for their effectiveness in reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance in beef cattle manure. Samples collected from the center and the surface of full-size manure stockpiling and composting piles were subject to metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses. While the distinctions in resistome between stockpiled and composted manure were not evident at the DNA level, the advantages of composting over stockpiling were evident at the transcriptomic level in terms of the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), the number of ARG subtypes, and the prevalence of high-risk ARGs (i.e., mobile ARGs associated with zoonotic pathogens). DNA and transcript contigs show that the pathogen hosts of high-risk ARGs included Escherichia coli O157:H7 and O25b:H4, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella enterica. Although the average daily temperatures for the entire composting pile exceeded 55°C throughout the field study, more ARG and ARG transcripts were removed at the center of the composting pile than at the surface. This work demonstrates the advantage of composting over stockpiling in reducing ARG risk in active populations in beef cattle manure.IMPORTANCEProper treatment of manure before land application is essential to mitigate the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Stockpiling and composting are two commonly used methods for manure treatment. However, the effectiveness of composting in reducing antibiotic resistance in manure has been debated. This work compared the ability of these two methods to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance in beef cattle manure. Our results demonstrate that composting reduced more high-risk resistance genes at the transcriptomic level in cattle manure than conventional stockpiling. This finding not only underscores the effectiveness of composting in reducing antibiotic resistance in manure but also highlights the importance of employing RNA analyses alongside DNA analyses.

Dataset Information

Inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Spores during Laboratory-Scale Composting of Feedlot Cattle Manure.

Publications

Inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Spores during Laboratory-Scale Composting of Feedlot Cattle Manure.

Similar Datasets

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